Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this Bill. I acknowledge the sentiments expressed by Deputy Ó Caoláin which reflect his perspective on the legislation. However, the one aspect he missed concerns the extremely difficult circumstances the country is in. The Government would like to be able to do an awful lot more, but we are in an extremely restricted position. In recognition of that position, this Bill and the recent budget have addressed a large amount of issues that will have a cumulative impact for business and other sectors.

The Bill contains a number of growth measures but they will take time to feed through. Nonetheless, each small step will feed into many other Government policies, including the Pathways to Work scheme and the Action Plan for Jobs. I am delighted that the Minister of State with responsibility for small enterprises, Deputy John Perry, is present to hear this debate. He has had a great input into the budget. The ten-point plan for small business will lead to growth measures in that regard.

In addition to the ten-point plan, there are other new measures in the Bill. They are designed to improve the cash flow position and thus create jobs, as well as preventing job losses. From 2008 to 2011, we lost over 250,000 jobs in the private sector. First and foremost, therefore, before we even set about creating jobs we must stop that loss. We have done a good job in that respect because unemployment figures have stabilised.

We do not need to reinvent the wheel. If every small and medium-sized business could create one new job, it would have a massive impact across the country. It would be much bigger than the recent job announcements by multinationals, although they are very welcome.

Each measure in the Finance Bill is designed to help business sectors to trade, grow and invest in new products and markets. Cumulatively, these measures will kick in. For example, the increase in the VAT cash receipts basis from €1 million to €1.25 million is a definite step in the right direction. It is a positive change that was sought by industry and will help businesses with cash flow difficulties. We are limited in what we can do, but if that measure could be replicated in future budgets, in three or four years' time that figure could reach €2 million.

Over a couple of years, this would have a real impact. As for the extension of three-year relief from corporation tax for start-up companies that have unused credits, this can now be carried forward into future years for use against future corporation tax liabilities and in itself, that is extremely positive. There has been an increase in the amount of investment income that can be retained by close companies for incurring the close company surcharge from €635 to €2,000. Again, the Government is being mindful of the lack of credit that is available to small businesses. As all Members are aware, cash is king for small businesses and this provision is to address that issue. The Bill provides for an increase in the amount of expenditure eligible for research and development tax credits on a full volume base of €200,000. In addition, extending the employment and investment incentives schemes to 2020 was a measure sought by Forfás in its report of 2012 on the Irish funding environment and is very much to be welcomed. The scheme also has been amended to include hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation, subject to review after two years to ascertain whether it is having the appropriate impact. The hotel sector alone employs approximately 51,000 individuals and the extension of the incentive to cover investments in the sector will help to sustain those jobs in conjunction with other initiatives such as The Gathering promoted by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and so on.

There is a lack of credit available and while trying to sort out the banks, different ways also must be found to get funds into companies. While this is a good scheme, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, has acknowledged that take-up has been low and this point must be considered. The Government must provide certainty for both investors and companies and I ask the Minister to examine ways to improve the scheme. Obviously, there are fewer taxpayers with investment capacity for a scheme such as this and the Government must ensure the scheme can capture such investors as are present. I understand the accountancy bodies have indicated the scheme is not as attractive as it is included in the higher earners' restriction and this point should be reviewed. In addition, consideration should be given to whether the three-year investment period is too short to allow companies to put the investment to work and to generate a return.

As for other aspects of the Finance Bill, there is great recognition, in both this Bill and the previous budget, of farmers and the importance of supporting the agricultural sector. There is a real difficulty in Ireland because for traditional reasons, there are insufficient young farmers and insufficient land mobility. The Bill contains many measures that are greatly to be welcomed. For example, I refer to the capital gains tax relief for farm consolidation measures, which to an extent is a replica of the roll-over relief from the past, whereby land sold will have such relief once the proceeds are reinvested within 24 months. Similarly, the young trained farmers stamp duty relief on agricultural land transfers will apply for a further three years and this is to be welcomed. The extension of 100% stock relief for young trained farmers until December 2015 is crucial, as is the overall 25% general stock relief. Moreover, stock relief at a rate of 50% has been extended to other registered farm partnerships. Heretofore, this provision was only available for dairy partnerships, which was somewhat discriminatory, and its extension to beef, sheep and other partnerships is greatly to be welcomed.

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